Religions is becoming an important aspect in American politics. Many changes in the U.S.A have drawn upon religious institutions: civil rights, social movements, abolition,..Nowadays, religions also becomes a decisive element in elections. The 2004 presidental eletion was held when candidates openly discussed about their religion beliefs. Church became an important place and people could be sorted not just by their policy preferences but also by their religious commitments.
According to August 2007 poll by the Pew Forum and the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 69% of the Americans agree that it is important for a politician to have a strong belief in religions. But, 63% do not want churches take part in elections. Only 28% say that churches might be an option for candidtes if they are unsure about who they want to vote for.
Religions is an important part in life and society but we should not consider it as an element to make the decision, especially in an decisive event such as elections. We need to view people in many sides. It is important to have a strong belief in religions but that is not a good idea to let it decide our life. I know a story about a guy who killed a person because his death brother went to his dream and said that someone killed him. When he was arrested, he still thought that it was not wrong. In that case, we easily blame religious thinking for that but I do not think there is a religion that tells everyone to kill people. Religions need to be viewed as a cultural aspect and with a brilliant thinking or it would lead people to crime. The danger is that they do not recognize their actions. Religios might help us be optimistic and hopeful in our life but we still have to think about the reality. A celebrity has said “Trust in God but do not forget to lock the door”
Ngoc Tran
http://pewforum.org/religion-politics/
sunflowersutras Said:
on March 14, 2008 at 5:01 pm
I think people are wont to vote for those who are more religious because they are seen as having more hopeful than the ever-so-depressing atheists (/heavy sarcasm). Plus, if one shares the same religion as you, then they are more likely to better represent your beliefs than someone of a different religion than yours. America is Christian – there’s no doubt, and although they don’t necessarily want to wed religion to the state, they can’t help but to be affected by something that may strongly influence their lives.
Also? Atheism seems to frighten people, so politicians have go to stay as far away from looking like that as possible to be voted for, because no one wants to vote for someone scary. Which is sad, but of course I’d think that; I’m an atheist myself.
harringtona Said:
on March 15, 2008 at 6:13 pm
That was a really interesting post to me. I guess I’ve never thought about it, but religion probably does effect a lot of the way that people vote in the elections. I personally think that religion shouldn’t matter in elections. I mean, just because someone doesn’t agree with you on the past doesn’t mean that they don’t have great views and plans for the future. I would categorize myself as being agnostic because I really don’t know what I believe about everything. But I do think that statements like “As a nation, under God” shouldn’t necessarily be in our constitution and on our money, because that leaves out so many people who don’t believe in “God.” Really interesting post though. =]
taurtaur430 Said:
on March 26, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I think this is an interesting post. I do agree that belonging to a certain religion is very important and it can help build good character and good morals. I don’t completely believe that inclding religion into one’s political views is a good idea because if someone includes their religion in thier view on a situation, then other religions can get invloved. That can cause a clash of religions and create fights because a lot of people do shut down the beliefs of other religions and criticize them and that doesn’t lead to anything positive. I also do believe that sometimes it is necessary to include religion when talking about a certai situation because religion does indeed create good morals in a person and that’s wat this world needs.